Archive: Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks landed the August cover of Shape Magazine. The singer posed in a bikini, showing off her recent 50-pound weight loss! So how did Jordin lose the weight?

“There is no secret,” the 22-year-old Sparkle actress told Us at the event. “It’s just eating better and working out! It’s definitely a daily thing.”

Among her favorite ways to get her sweat on: high-energy dance classes like Zumba. “My mom’s best friend is a Zumba instructor and I loved it,” she gushed. “I started with walking then went to jogging and then Zumba. I started [working with a trainer] and we did 30 minutes of circuit training so I didn’t feel like I needed to be in the gym for two hours.”

In addition to intense cardio sculpting sessions, Sparks, who had been dating fellow singer Jason Derulo since last August, had to makeover her diet as well. “I stop now when I’m full,” she admitted. “I love food and I love to eat. My thing was, do I really need seconds or do I want it just because it tastes good?”

But leftovers and second helpings have proven to pay off for the season 6 American Idol champ, who admits that she got extremely emotional when shooting her first bikini cover.

“I could only dream having a cover and looking like that,” she said. “I thought, ‘I did it!’ I had to walk back to my dressing room and I had to pull myself together because I was overwhelmed. I cried. I shed a little tear but I’m really happy with how it turned out.”

She looks amazing, but honestly…….she doesn’t look much different to me. I know she was a bit pudgy, but did she really have 50 pounds to lose? Either way, good for her. She looks beautiful on this cover!

In an exclusive interview with AOL Music, Jordin Sparks reveals the secrets to her new body!

You posted a personal photo of yourself posing in an itty-bitty bikini on your Twitter page just a few days ago …

[Laughs] Yes! Well, I was going to go lay out and I was taking a picture, because I loved the bathing suit I was in. And it turned out so good and I was like, “Should I post this? Should I not? Should I post this, should I not? I have no idea. I don’t know what to do!” So, it was a battle.

So you wanted to show off your new body. How did you lose all that weight?

Something just clicked with me back in December and I said, “You know what? Instead of just talking about being active, I’m just going to go do it.” A lot of things happened like being active and making better choices, better portion control, nothing crazy. I made chicken alfredo last night for me and my friends, so it’s nothing crazy. But instead of having three servings, [I] just eat slowly and go with one and see if you’re still hungry after.

Did you feel any pressure from the industry to slim down? You told People earlier in your career that you were “comfortable” in your own skin and that you liked your curves. What changed?

I thought I looked good then as well! I think I look good at any shape or size. I did just turn 21 so … how do I explain this with out offending anyone? Let me put it this way, I’m still pretty young and its just one of those things that just happened. It wasn’t as if I was like, “Oh my God, every body else is so skinny and I have to be like that and be just like them.” It wasn’t that at all. It was just that I know I feel better when I’m more active and I know that it will do well for me in the long run. My schedule is getting so insane and I would much rather be healthy.

Every time someone sees a slimmed-down picture of me it’s not because I felt the pressure of the girl next to me being size 2, so I have to be that way too. It’s just making the choice for myself to be healthier, because I know that I’m less sick when I’m more active, I have more energy when I’m more active. And I definitely need all the energy I can get with this new song!

Yes, ‘I Am Woman’ is a pretty high energy, empowering female anthem. Who are some of your female role models?

In the industry, Gwen Stefani: [she’s] definitely the epitome of female empowerment. I love how she rocks that red lipstick no matter where she goes. She has a great fashion sense and she’s comfortable with herself. You see her in pictures from way back when, and she’s always been comfortable with who she is. Having the blue hair and doing crazy things — it’s just really cool to see someone like that. She’s beautiful and she was a mentor when I was on ‘Idol,’ which made me love her even more. In my personal life, my mom and my grandmothers are all so strong and they just go to show the power of working and having kids and wanting to do your own thing and taking care of business.